Moving-picture machine.



v1. W. BINGHAM. I'aaOVNG PICTURE MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. s, 1912.

Patentad Jam. 5, lQ.

SHEBTSS-IEET 3.

ma ,mum-

Uurrian strains entrenar GEORGE 'i/V. BINGHAM, GF NEIV YORK, N. Y.

:MOVING-PICTURE MACHINE.

Application lefl .anuary 8. 19152.

To aZZ'u-iom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE IY. BINGHAM, a citizen of the nited States, and a resident of the city of New Yorkrborough of Brook lyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain neu' and useful Improvements in Moving-Picture Machines, of Which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Thisinvention relates to certain improvements in moving picture machines and more particularly to that type in which the film is moved intermittently past the exposure opening and permitted to remain stationary for short intervals bet-Ween successive advancements.

One of the main objects of my invention is to facilitate the framing` of the picture, that is. the bringing of the film into proper registry with the exposure opening, so that the edges or the exposure opening ivl bear the proper relationsh'ip to the picture.

A further important object of my invention is to facilitate the vadvancement oithe film during the normal operation of the machine, so as to reduce the liability of injury to the film and insure the proper degree of vadvancement during each cycle of operations.

In my prior application Serial No. 656401'. ,filed October 2l. llll. I disclosed and claimed an improved frami device, in which the crank. bv means of v 'ch the machine was operated. could also be used dui ing the normal operation of the machine for moving the film out of synchronism with the remainder of the machine and thus properly frame the picture in' case of necessity. in the vspecific construction shou'n in said application, I utilized a pair of feeding rolls, which could be operated at their regular speed or could be operated at. an increased speed for framng the picture. In my present invention, I utilized certain features disclosed in the said prior application but apply them to a machine in which the film is advanced by movable clamping mechanism. which grips the film during a movement in one direction and is released from it during. the movement in the return direction.

One important feature of mv present construction is this clamping mechanism. which includes tivo spaced oscillating members serving as guides. between which the film passes, and having a slight movement relative to each other to grip or release the film.

Specification of Letters Patent.

patented Jan. 5, 1915.

Serial No. 670,105. i

A further important feature of'my present construction is the clamps Which prevent the return movement of the film past the exposure opening, these clamps being in the form of rollers normally rotated only bv the film as the latter passes betiveenfbiit adapted for positive rotation to advance the film in framing the picture.

My invention involves various other features and important combinations of parts. which will be pointed outmore particularlv hereinafter and defined in the claims. y Reference is to be had to the accompanving drawings, which form a part of this specification and in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in t-he different vievvs.

Figure l is a vertical section through a machine embodying my invention. FigQ is a face vieu* of the machine. the lower4 portion being shoivn in section. Fig. 3 is an end vieulooking in the opposite direction from the view shou'n in Fig. l. Fig. i is a face view of one of the cams, and Fig. 5 is a sectional detail on the line 5 5 of Fig.

My invention does not in any vvay relate to the control of the light, the movement of the shutter or other features of the machine. with the exception of the mechanism for advancing the film either in tlielregular operation of the machine or in the framingT of the picture. In the specific machine illustrated the film enters at the top and passes first be` heath a roller lf), thence through a vertical movable guide ll. the delivery end of which projects downwardly so as to guide the film past the exposure opening l2. The film is held in close engagement with the casing u'all at the exposure opening by anv suitable form of spring lf); and belovv the exposure opening and the spring are two clamping rollers ll and l5, the function and operation of which will be more fully pointed out hereinafter. Beloiv the rollers are two spaced oscillating clamping members 1G and li" betueen which the film passes and 'by the movement of which the film is caused to 1ntermittently advance with a step by step movement. From the lower end of these members the film may pass to any suitable receiver or container and preferably passes over a roller 18a.

rhe members 16 and 1T comprise an important feature of my invention as they are- 4 "ancing the film during the normal opera,-

lso

tion of the machine. These members are prvoted Aabout 'the same center and they have an oscillatory movement about that center. During the movement in one direcy tion the two members are pressed together so as to grip the .film which is between them, while during the return movement themem bers are spaced. apart, as is shown in Fig. l,

and the film may freely slip through and be` guided, in the space between. The two,

members 16 and k17 .are preferably in the fo;m of lthin pla-tes or leaves curved so as to eliminate sharp edges which might injure the film, `and the upper orreceiving ends are adjacent to `and directly beneath the rollers 14 and 15.

For giving the members 16 and 17 the desired. movement I secure the member 17 to a rock shaft. 18.; a portion of which is cut away so that one side of the member passes approximately through the axis of the shaft. The other member 16 is rigidly secured to a sleeve 19 which encirclesthe rock 4shaft 18 and which sleeve is cut away to permit `of the proper movement of the member 17. The rock shaft at' one end has an arm 20 upon' which is mounted a cam roller 21. This roller travels within a cam groove 22 in a cam wheel 28. 'I his cam wheel may and prefeeably rdoes comprise a fly wheel of the machine. Upon the opposite side of the machine -is a sec-mid cam wheel 24 which may also serve as a-fly wheel and which is ywheels with its groove and Ahave-illustrated in dotted lines the difference between one cam groove and the other. It will be noted that throughout the major portion of the grooves they are exactly the same, so that the sleeve and the 'rock shaft will oscillate together,'and therefore the two members 16 and 17 will move together and in spaced re 'lationship. `While the cam rollers are within the remaining portions of the grooves the slight difference betweenl the .twogrooves will cause a relative movement of the sleeve and'rock shaft and will cause the members 16 and 17 to approach each other and grip the,film` therebetween. The grooves are of such shape that the members come'together to grip the film when said membersv arev raised to the highest point and then the members rapidly swing downwardly to advance the film` .while at their lowermost meshes point they open to releaseithe l'filmand slowly lmove downwardly while the film slips through between them.

Any suitable mechanism may be. employed lated by a link 3 6 one end of which is eccenftrically pivotedl on a 'disk 37 -carried by a shaft 31 above referred to. y

In order that there may be sufficient free film to prevent injury during the sudden pulling by the oscillating members 16'and 17 and to avoid the use ofa free loop, 1 mount the guide 1l out of alinement with the roller 10 and exposure opening, and move this guide up andfdovvn with the oscillating members. Any suitable" mechanism may be employed for this but preferably I mount the guide on a slide 88 shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.an'd reciprocate the slide by a link 39, the lower end of which is connected to an oscillating arm 40 on the sleeve 19.l As'the film is suddenly pulled'v through the guide at any rapid rate and not suddenly jerked over the roller l0. -During thev upward movement of the guide andthe members 16 and 17 the fiilm is' held between thev rollers 14 and 1 5 and yprevented from moving upwardly past the exposurev opening; During this time7 of course', it is slowly passing through the guide and' between the oscillating members. oscillating membersl and 1'7 may rely solely upon the accurate formation of the cam grooves to properly grip the film, but preferably I employ a coil spring all enjto rotate the sleeve and rock shaft in respect to each. other any press the members 16 and 17 toward each other. I may rely entirely upon this springli'or the bringing of the clamping members tcgether and rely upon one of the ,cam grooves for holding the members apart. The two rollers' 14 and 15 are pressed toward each otherby a spring 42, the tension of which is suflicient to cause the rollers to actas clamps and to cause the film tobe advanced vby 4the positive rotation of` thev'rollers. 'The roller 15 rotates about a stationary axis while the roller 14 iscarried by a spring pressed movable arm 43. rl`his arm or the .spring 4:2 may have an extension and the ushaft 28 may have' a cam operating on the extension so as to either The two y 'circling the rock shaft 18 and sleeve land-` l secured to both 1n such a manner as to tend positively separate the rollers 14 and 15 during the downward movement of the film or relieve the roller 14 from the action of the spring during this time.

The rollers l-l and 15 serve a veryimportant function in my improved machine inasmuch as they serve not only as clamps for .the film but they also serve as means for advancing the. film to frame the picture. As previously stated the gear is mounted u'pon a main hollow drive-shaft 34 which is rotated in any suitable manner. Preferably the sleeve has a crank arm il and a handle l5 whereby the machine may be readily operated by hand. The gear 33 is provided with a flat outer face so as to also serve as a friction gear, and a shaft 46 is mounted on the side of the machine in a bearing l? of such a character that the shaft #L6 may move bodily to a limited extent. On the shaft i6 is a friction wheel :t8 adjacent to the face of the gear 33 so that the shaft 46 may be positively rotated when the friction wheel lb' is held against the face of the gear 33. The shaft $6 carries a worm -ll meshing with a worm wheel 50 on the shaft ciI .11- rollcr 15. The worm is closely adjacent to the bearing #LT so that the slight twisting movement of the shaft 46 does not materially affect the relationship of the worm 19 and wormwheel 50. The two rollers` ll and l5 may have intermeshing gears 1i and 15 so that the positive rotation of the roller l-l through the shaft 46 and worm will impart positive rotation to the roller 15. The pulling of the film between the rollers will not normally rotate them by reason of the gearing connected to the roller 15.

For bringing the friction wheel -18 into operation l employ somewhat the same mechanism as is disclosed in my prior applicaiion above referred to. In the present construction the crank arm l-L is provided with a lever 51. pivoted intermediate of its ends, and having one end in engagement with a rod 52 eXtendng through the hollow shaft 3l and liaving the other en-d in enga gement with a pin extending through the handle l5. rl`he opposite end of the rod 52 mounted in a bearing 54: carried b v an arm 55 pivoted on the machine and this arm at its free end also serves as a bearing for the end of the shaft i6. By pressing inwardly onthe pin 53 the lever 51 pulls the rod 52 endwise and draws the friction wheel 4S against the face of the gear 1'3. If the crank now be turned the machine will operate to feed the film in the ordinary manner bv. the oscillating clamp. but atthe same time the rollers 1l and 15 will be positively rotated and also act to advance the film during the upward or return movement of tbe clamp. This movement of the film by the rollers 1l and 15 will bring the film Y manually operated independent of the normal operation of the other parts of the .meclianism- Various changes may be made in the details of construction and within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letf ters Patent is:

1. .i moving picture machine having a clamp for engaging with and advancing the lilm: clamping means including a roller normally not rotated by the film in passing thereover, and means for positively rotating said roller to frame the picture.

2. A moving picture machine having a clamp for engaging with and advancing the film, a pair of clamping rollers normallyv not rotated by the lm in passing therebetween and means for positively rotating said rollers to frame the picture.

3. A moving picture machine having an oscillating clamp for engaging with and advancing the film, a pair of clamping rollers normally not rotated by the film in passing' therebetween, and means for positively rotating said rollers to frame the picture.

l. A. moving picture machine having a pair of rollers between which the Elm passes and normally inoperative to advance the film; means independent of said rollers for advancing the film, and means for rotating said rollers at will.

5. A moving picture machine having a pair of clamping rollers between which the film passes. an oscillating device for advancing the film and manually controlled connections whereby said rollers may be rotated. during the operation of said advancing device. 'i

6. A moving picture machine having a pair of rollers normally serving as clamps; means for advancing the film between said rollers. and means for positively rotating said rollers at will to Iframe the picture.

T. A moving picture machine having a pair of rollers normally serving to clamp the filmdmeans for advancing the film be- .tween said rollers; gearing for positively rotating said rollers; and manually controlled detachable connections between said gearing and said advancing means.

S. A moving picture machine having a pair of rollers between which the lilm passes. a d"ive shaft therefor: ncaring connecting said shaft with one of said rollers: means for advancing the film and detachlJo able connections for driving said shaft from said advancing means.

9.*A moving picture machine having means 'for advancing the Hlm, auxiliary advancing means including a roller over which the filnipasses,` and normally inoperative friction roller at will; .y

10. A-molving picture machine having a pair of clamping rollers, means for rotating fyshem' to advance the film' and frame the picture, and an oscillating clamp for advancing the'iilm independently of said rollers.

11. A' moving picture machine having a pair of clampingrollers; means for rotating said jrollers 'to advance the vfilm and vframe the picture; andan loscillating clamp for engaging with the film to advance the latter, said clamp including two relatively movable members.

1 2. A- moving picture machine having twopairs of clamps, one of said clamps being Abodily movable to intermittently .advence the film and the other of said clamps including relatively movable members for `two clamping viinembers for engagement.

with the ihn,oneof said. clamping niembers being secured to said rock shaft, the other saidmembers being secured to said sleeve -and cams for oscillating said rock shaft -and sleeve to grip the film betweenv said members during an oscillation'pin one direction, and free the lilm during the Are-V turn movement of thev members.

l5. A moving picture machine having an oscillatory clamp for intermittently grip-1 ping the film and advancing the same; a

gearing for rotating said to clamp the film guide through which the lm passes; a clamp intermediate of said guide and said -first mentioned clamp; and means for moving said guide and said lirst mentionedclamp simultaneously.

16. A moving 'picture machine having an exposure opening, means for intermittently advancing the film past said opening, and a'guide through which the film passes to said exposure opening and movable' toward and from said exposure openingone o1' said movementsbeing'vvith said il'in.

17. '1A moving picture machine having an exposure opening past which the film may move a guide through which the film passes to said exposure opening and mov- 'able toward and from -said exposure ope1i ing; and an oscillatory clamp't'or engaging with the film beyond said exposure opening to advance the film. l c

18. A moving picture machine having an exposure opening' past which the film may move; a guide' through Y which the film passes to saidiexposure opening and mov- .able toward and from said exposure open-A ing; an oscillatory` clamp for engaging with the film beyond said exposure opening to advance the film; and a pair of clamping rollers intermediate of said exposure openjing and said advancing means, and means for rotating them to frame the picture.

19. A moving picture machine having means for advancing the fil-m, auxiliary advancing means including a roller over which the film passes, and normallyinopervative means for rotating said roller.

20. A moving picture machine having means for advancing the film, auxiliary advancingl means including a roller over which the lilm. passes, and normally inoper- 'ativef gearing for rotating said roller.

In'testimony whereof I have signed my Jname to this specification in the' presence of ltwo subscribing witnesses. i GEORGE l/V. BINGHAM.-

``Witnessesz I CLAIR W. FAIRBANK, ELEANOR T. MLiNoGUE. 

